I thought I was crazy for thinking Fallout 4 feels like a perfectly crisp fall day, but that's exactly what Bethesda was aiming for after a 'field trip' to a national park: 'I was like, this is what our world needs to look like'

Dogmeat — (Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

Fallout 4 is a much more cheerful game than its immediate numbered predecessor. In contrast with the grime, slick gore, and green tint of the Capital Wasteland, the Commonwealth is bright and vibrant—it's the sort of place where you wouldn't mind putting down roots and founding a settlement or ten.

Playing Fallout 4 has always felt like walking around on a perfect November morning to me: Everything's kind of grey and dead, the trees have no leaves, but the sun is out, the sky is blue. It has this sort of crisp, clean sense you only get that time of year. I've wondered if this was just a me thing, but when I asked Bethesda art director Istvan Pely about it in a recent interview, he told me that the autumnal vibe was "completely intentional."

"Very early in the project, I took the art team, the environment art team, on a field trip to a local park," said Pely. "Great Falls Park, it's along the Potomac here in Maryland⁠—actually splits Maryland and DC. It was late fall, so all the leaves were down, all the grass was brown, all the trees looked barren and dead.

Pely and Bethesda studio design director Emil Pagliarulo also spoke about what it was like to imagine cities they've lived in met with nuclear devastation⁠—apparently it's actually super fun. You can read even more about the making of Fallouts 3, 4, and New Vegas in the latest issue of PC Gamer's print magazine, which celebrates the 10-year anniversary of Fallout 4 and 15th birthday of New Vegas.

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Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.

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